Chicagoland

Finding new uses for long-vacant parish convents

By Michelle Martin | Staff Writer
Sunday, June 14, 2015

St. Cornelius Parish on the Northwest Side could become the first of several to host a community residence for senior citizens.

The parish, at 5430 W. Foster Ave., and Point In Time LLC have the support of the local alderman to convert the vacant convent into a home for up to 11 people, age 62 and older. Each resident would have his or her own bedroom and bathroom suite, with shared access to common areas, including a kitchen and a shared car.

The project won’t start, however, until at least nine potential residents have committed to the plan.

If it works, it’s a model the company wants to bring to other parishes in Chicago, said Tom Smith of Point in Time.

Smith said the plan would allow seniors who no longer need or want to care for their own homes an option to stay in their own community, while making productive use of vacant convents and generating rental income for the parish.

Father Daniel Fallon, pastor at St. Cornelius, said his parish would welcome new life in the convent, and the money wouldn’t hurt either. The BVM sisters who originally staffed St. Cornelius School moved out in the 1980s, he said.

“When I got here in 2008, it looked like a haunted house,” Fallon said. The parish had to spend quite a bit of money just to keep the building safe, he said, but it has mostly been used for storage and occasionally for meetings of parish organizations.

“It’s very expensive storage space,” he said.

So Fallon told the Archdiocese of Chicago’s real estate office that the parish would be interested in finding someone to lease the building to help with the parish financial situation.

“We’ve had a number of people come look at it and run screaming into the night,” Fallon said, because of the work it would take to update the convent. Point In Time was the first group that expressed a real interest, he said.

The way the project would work is that Point In Time would have a long-term lease with the parish, and the residents would rent a share of the home, which includes not just their private areas but also access to common areas.

Once they have enough residents signed on, Point in Time will have to knock down walls, replace and update electrical and plumbing systems, add an elevator and do other work to make a safe, comfortable energy efficient home.

Smith said old convents are attractive options because “they are beautiful and have beautiful construction,” meaning the underlying structures are sound.

Fallon said he hopes that St. Cornelius parishioners are among those who take advantage of the residence.

“What happens is people’s houses outgrow them, and they move near their families, usually out to the suburbs, and they lose the community where they spent their lives,” he said. “This would give them the option of remaining rooted in the community.”

That’s one selling point Point In Time is emphasizing as its begins its marketing plan. The residences are designed for active, independent adults, but they will have some services built in, including a few hours a day with a chef and a concierge who can help arrange trips or outings. The buildings will be designed with wider doors and walk- or roll-in showers.

Catholic residents might like the plan to refurbish the convent chapels, Smith said.

How each community actually works will be up to the residents, Smith said. Some people might still be working and out of the house most of the day; others might volunteer in the parish.

In addition to St. Cornelius, the company’s website said it is in talks with St. Ita Parish, 1220 W. Catalpa Ave., and St. Hyacinth Basilica Parish, 3636 W. Wolfram St. Staff at St. Hyacinth confirmed that there have been discussions, but said the parish must decide where to relocate the three sisters who still live in its convent before moving forward.

Smith said the company has also talked with Our Lady of Victory Parish, 5212 W. Agatite Ave.

Topics:

  • chicago archdiocese

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